The Koksilah River Provincial Park is 7 km west of Shawnigan Lake on southern Vancouver Island. This park is undeveloped. It is located in the Vancouver Island Forest Reserve. The reserve offers good hiking, fishing, and swimming. This is a nice place for picnicking all in the scenic surroundings of the Koksilah River and Canyon.
The nearby kinsol trestle, just beyond the boundary of the park is a wonderful historic site that was sadly in need of restoration. This has now been done and there are trails, picnic tables, and one awesome trestle that you can walk over to view the river from above, to just see this trestle is awesome. The old railway bridge was constructed over the Koksilah River in 1920, to allow the transport of equipment and supplies into the Kinsol copper mine, while the outbound rail cars carried logs that were headed for the nearby sawmills.
Camping is available on rustic tent pads that are provided near the parking area. The Park is open year-round when accessible. You will find there are approximately 15 campsites at this location, all of which are walk-ins. There is no fee charged for winter camping. There is a fee charged from March 15 to October 31.
The river has a 6 km whitewater kayak run above-burnt bridge, one of the best whitewater runs on southern Vancouver Island. The Koksilah River and Burnt Bridge region offers some incredible mountain biking trails. This is the site of the annual Burnt Bridge Classic Race Loop and the Can Am trails.
You could ride for hours or even days on these trails. There is plenty of wildlife here, you could see bears, elk, deer, cougars, wolves, and many other smaller forest creatures and there is such a variety of birdlife here. So bring your camera.